R.I.P, David R. Ellis

David R. Ellis, director of FINAL DESTINATION 2 and most recently, SHARK NIGHT, has passed away.

Often working in genre and reveling in the wicked fun it had
to offer with very little pretense (he reportedly wanted to keep SHARK NIGHT’s moniker
as UNTITLED 3D SHARK THRILLER), David Ellis will perhaps best be remembered by fans
for his incredible work on FINAL DESTINATION 2. Boasting one of the best senses
of humor found in a horror film, Ellis helped craft the series’ brightest
entry, expertly staging the film’s elaborate set pieces (that highway
sequence!) and adeptly balancing the frightening, thrilling and outlandish—and
forever keeping us anxious around highway trucks loaded with logs and laughing
around plate glass windows.

Outside of his horror work, Ellis was an accomplished stunt
man-turned-stunt coordinator and subsequently second unit director, creating unforgettable
action in the likes of SCARFACE, TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., CLEAR AND PRESENT
DANGER, THE MATRIX RELOADED and many more. Ellis died while in Johannesburg,
South Africa prepping a film that would have reunited him with his SNAKES ON A
PLANE star Samuel L. Jackson.

About the author

Samuel Zimmerman

Fangoria.com Managing Editor Samuel Zimmerman has been at FANGORIA since 2009, where fresh out of the Purchase College Cinema Studies program, he began as an editorial assistant. Since, he’s honed both his writing and karaoke skills and been trusted with the responsibility of jury duty at Austin’s incredible Fantastic Fest. Zimmerman lives in and hails from The Bronx, New York where his pants are too tight and he’ll watch anything with witches.